Improper renal dosing in long-term care facilities.

Objectives: With advancing age, physiologic changes occur that affect drug metabolism. Possibly the most predictable function decline in geriatric population is renal function.
Methods: The prescribing habits of physicians and the attention given to patient renal function was investigated. Data was collected from two nursing facilities in southeastern Georgia.
Results: Based on two models of prescribing habits and using logistic regression estimates, we concluded that physicians do not follow recommendations for dose adjustment of renally excreted medications in these two facilities.
Conclusion: We recommend that physicians consider evaluating current medications and establishing a base line for renal function and degree of decline.